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Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
Sunday Readings
On entering the house, the Magi saw the child
with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and
paid him homage. ( Mt. 2:11a )
the EPIPHANY of the LORD
1Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
the EPIPHANY of the LORD
a light for all 1
introduction
The arrival of the unexpected "magi", wise men or astrologers, worries those
in power. Herod summons his scribes, who remind him that the Messiah was to be
born in Bethlehem. Quoting the prophet Micah, Matthew affirms that, for that
reason - and in spite of appearances - Bethlehem is by no means the "least" of the
cities of Israel. The evangelist replaces the term meaning 'least' in the Greek
version of Micah, by another – the term Matthew himself will use in his 25 th
chapter, to speak of ‘the least’ in whom we meet Jesus. Like Bethlehem, at first
sight, the poor and the forgotten ones are insignificant – yet they are hugely
important because its through them that GOD in Christ, comes to us.
first reading: Isaiah 60 : 1 – 6 2 [ the gathering in of the scattered ones ]
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD
has risen upon you.(1)
For darkness shall cover the Earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.(2)
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.(3)
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
1 Cover image: Icon of the Nativity of the LORD. St. Joseph is off to the bottom left. He is
righteous and protects Mary and Jesus, but he is not involved in the miracle of the incarnation of
the Son of GOD. The old man speaking to him represents the devil bringing new doubts to Joseph.
“How can a virgin give birth? You know that is impossible! G OD does not become human! How can this
be?” He is tempting Joseph to doubt the incarnation. Some angels are glorifying G OD, tending to
the action and ministering while another angel proclaims good news to the shepherds. The figure
to the right of Mary is the Prophet Isaiah and to her left are the Magi shown on horseback
indicating they have made a long journey to be there. The woman on the bottom right is one of
the midwives which tradition says Joseph summoned. She is shown here to indicate that Jesus
was born in the normal way and would have needed washing, as a regular human baby would.
Notice that the manger is like a casket and Jesus’ swaddling clothes are very much like the grave
clothes discovered by the women at the tomb following his resurrection. The tree below the baby
is the “Jesse Tree” from Isaiah’s prophesy, which says that a shoot will sprout from the stump
(tree) of Jesse (the father of King David). The ox and the ass are also from Isaiah’s prophecy, “The
ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib.” Mary occupies the center of the icon
signifying that the incarnation was not only the work of G OD but also the work of the will and
faith of the Virgin. Jesus was able to take flesh because the humanity in Mary gave him that
possibility. Even though she is mother, she turns away from her child to welcome us all,
recognising in us the birth of her child.
2 The biblical excerpts are drawn from the New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV), published by Oxford University Press (1994).
2Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
and your daughters shall be carried
on their nurses' arms.(4)
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea
shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.(5)
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.(6)
In the fifth century before the Christian era, the Israelites had begun
returning to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. But hopes for a more settled life in
restored Jerusalem were in vain. A significant minority found themselves
marginalised by others who had also been in exile. A dominant, oppressive
priesthood gained control. The marginalised had life squeezed out of them. Yet it
is to them that the prophet addresses his word of invitation – to imagine a
different world! Among this minority a new liberated hope and a new kind of
energy takes shape. Isaiah invites them to dream of a future beyond the present
harsh realities. The prophet's vision asserts a future for those who have suffered.
The prophet offers them hope, security, and peace in their own land. To think
about the possibility of the new and peaceful Jerusalem, is to seriously
contemplate attaining peace everywhere else on our planet. 3 In Isaiah the dream
of freedom and newness applies especially to those who have been exiled,
marginalised and made vulnerable.
The LORD's power for life-giving, breaks with what has gone before. The sun is
the symbol of GOD's life-giving power; a sign of the sure coming of newness, just
as dawn surely follows the darkness of night. The people of Jerusalem don't
initiate the change. They are the recipients of gifts and surprises that they might
not want to receive. This power for life-giving is given precisely in times of
vulnerability and grieving and the mourning turns to genuine heart-felt praising
(v.5). The dream of the prophet is for the people to have this power for life-giving
so easily and clearly entrusted to them that other nations will be attracted to
Jerusalem in the new era, bringing a complete ending to all marginalisations and
exiles. In the new era, the wealth created by the new harmony, will be used in
GOD's praise (v.6) and even the possibility of acting unjustly will become
unthinkable.4
3 Cf. Is.65:17ff
4 Is.61:3
3Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
response: Psalm 72(71) : 1 – 2, 7 – 8, 10 – 13 [ prayer for guidance and support for the Ruler ]
Give the king your justice, O GOD,
and your righteousness to a king's son.(1)
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.(2) . . .
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.(7)
May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.(8) . . .
May the kings of Tarshish
and of the isles render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.(10)
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.(11)
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.(12)
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.(13)
The speaker draws on imagery of a royal enthronement, rather than the
appearance of light. For the psalmist, royal power and longevity must serve the
good of the people. Prominent among a ruler's obligations is responsibility to
protect and liberate those who are not able to protect and liberate themselves.
The Israelite idea of a healthy social order found expression in their view of how
the ideal ruler might act. The speaker doesn’t refer to remembered kings. For
example, David, or Solomon, but about an anticipated ruler, who will restore well-
being. The Israelite monarchy was designed to create order in the midst of the
persistent threat of chaos and disorder, both cosmic and political.
The monarch of which the speaker refers, isn't one with historical scars, or one
with raw power. This ruler is the ideal David – as the real David should have been –
and will now finally be! This ruler is a human agent but a human agent who is
completely available for the LORD's dreams, uncontaminated by self-serving.
This ideal ruler will be the source of prosperity, fertility, justice and well-being.
Without such a one, the forces of death reappear. Israelite and Christian tradition
see this is a portrait of the ruler referred to by Isaiah.5
When such a ruler holds power, justice is understood as positive and
aggressive action for life-giving, especially for the marginalised (vv.2,7,12,13).
Justice has little or nothing to do with punishment, or with simple maintenance of
the status quo. It is the active intervening to transform society. That trans-
formation means: on one hand, acting favourably towards the weak and on the
other hand, it means acting effectively against abusive wrongs (vv.12-13). Political
5 Is.60:1-6
4Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
and economic institutions must be subjected to active transforming interventions
of this kind, if their structures are to promote the reigning of G OD who gives them
their reason for being.
second reading: Ephesians 3 : 2 – 3, 5 – 6 [ Paul’s ministry to the non-Israelites ]
Surely you have already heard of the commission of GOD’s grace that was
given me for you,(2) and how the mystery was made known to me by
revelation, as I wrote above in a few words,(3) . . . In former generations
this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been
revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:(5) that is, the
Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers
in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.(6)
While the social context of the letter is dramatically different, the passage
makes a similar point to Isaiah (first reading). Part of the mystery of the Epiphany
is the mysterious inclusion of Gentiles among G OD's people. Submission to GOD's
gift of light, carries with it the obligation to accept and proclaim, the inclusion of
all outsiders within this mystery. Paul, or a later disciple seeking to convey what
Paul would have written had he been still alive, insists that G OD's reigning has
both an earthly and cosmic dimensions. The reading combines the same themes
found in Isaiah.6 The revelation or epiphany of G OD,7 in Paul's case while he is on
his way to Damascus, and a sharing in this mystery of salvation by non-Israelites. 8
The Letter was written at a time when Paul's work was complete and the unity
of Israelite Christians and the non-Israelite Christians in the new community, for
which the apostle had striven, was an accomplished fact. The gospel writer
Matthew, benefitted from this achievement. Because of Paul's successful work,
Matthew can use the story of the visit of the wise men from the East, to
symbolise the universal dimension of the good news about G OD's victory over the
power of death in Jesus.
gospel reading: Matthew 2 : 1 – 12 [ the visit of the wise men from the East ]
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,(1) asking, "Where is the child
who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,
and have come to pay him homage."(2) When King Herod heard this, he
was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;(3) and calling together all the
chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the
Messiah was to be born.(4) They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it
has been written by the prophet:(5) 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall
6 Is.60:1-6
7 Ibid. v.3
8 Ibid. v.6
5Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"(6) Then Herod secretly
called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the
star had appeared.(7) Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and
search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me
word so that I may also go and pay him homage."(8) When they had heard
the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they
had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
(9) When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed
with joy.(10) On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his
mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their
treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
(11) And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left
for their own country by another road.(12)
Matthew says these events happened during the reign of king Herod (vv.1-2).
That’s saying that Jesus was born into a reign of terror. There were three Herods.
Herod the elder; Herod his son; and a grandson Herod. Herod the elder, the one
ruling at the time Jesus was born, had ordered two of his sons to be strangled on
suspicion of conspiracy. He also killed one of his wives. At the time of Jesus' birth
he killed more than three hundred public servants on another suspicion of
conspiracy. Jesus was born into this climate of repression and terror.
It was a common expectation at the time that the Messiah would come to
rule. That's the background to the Magi asking for, ‘the king of the Jews’ - meaning
the Messiah.9 The tyrant Herod summoned a committee (vv.3-4) and as happens in
committees, there were most likely hidden agendas surfacing. Someone, in all this
discussion, knew the Scriptures – about the Messiah being born in the small town
of Bethlehem (v.6). Herod engaged in self-deception and denial by using his talent
for deviousness (vv.7-8) and his intentions only become clear once the Magi have
left the scene (vv.13-23). Herod wants to deny the ending of the old order.
Matthew presents an enraged ruler prepared to take any steps he can to
perpetuate what has in fact already ended. The old way had already gone and
with it, goes Herod's rulership.
The wise men from the East, receive their revelation through created nature
(v.9). Endowed with an insight they recognise the importance of the Star of David
(vv.10-11). Although they hasten to Jerusalem to pay homage, the full revelation
of the Messiah cannot be gleaned from nature alone. It is a secret found in the
Israelite Scriptures which are the special revelation that G OD has given to the
Israelites alone. The wise men from the East learn from the Scriptures GOD's plan
9 The Magi were wise men who were often priests and sometimes they became rulers, but they were
primarily philosophers and people devoted to the study of the sciences, especially the knowledge of
the stars. Perhaps they would be more like what we would call scientists than wise men. And they also
taught a religious doctrine - that of Zoroaster.
6Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
of salvation before they find the Messiah and pay homage to him. The Israelites,
who have the Scriptures and who could plainly see and hear what a long line of
GOD's prophets had said and done, are unwilling to worship the new-born ruler.
The wise camel-men from the East, accept, and pay homage. But the ruler of
Jerusalem, his committee of chief priests, and the scribes of the people do not
believe. Rather they go off on their high-horses (or camels) and conspire against
this so-called ‘king of the Jews’ and will seek to put him to death.10
for sharing: 11
• GOD’s salvation is intended not only for the Israelites but for all. Comment on Isaiah
60 : 1 – 6
• The Letter to the Ephesians describes the mystery of Christ as G OD’s secret plan –
something GOD was ‘cooking up’ all along. Comment on Ephesians 3 : 2 – 6.
• The Magi symbolise the non-Israelite world coming to Jesus, the Israelite, to pay
homage and to discover joy. Comment on Matthew 2 : 1 – 12.
prayer: 12
LORD GOD of the nations,
we have seen the star of your glory rising in splendour.
The radiance of your incarnate WORD
pierces the darkness that covers the Earth
and signals the dawn of peace and justice.
Make radiant the lives of your people
with that same brightness, and beckon all the nations
to walk as one in your light.
We ask this through Jesus Christ,
your WORD made flesh,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
in the splendour of eternal light,
GOD for ever and ever. Amen.
10 The announcement of the birth of the Saviour – is beyond the narrow confines of any one experience
of religion; is beyond any particular church community's ownership; is beyond any singular culture or
tradition's control – is good news for all peoples, animals, plants, and the very material of the universe
itself.
11 Lectio Divina: reading GOD’s WORD in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and
renew us. The practise of lectio divina requires a quiet space, a passage of scripture and the
willingness to give time to the project. The passage used should be short. For the purpose of this
booklet, we suggest using the gospel reading of the up-coming Sunday. This booklet gives the
context and some commentary on each of the readings and the psalm used in the Sunday’s
liturgy. Familiarity with the texts and the commentary beforehand, can better prepare our
hearing and understanding the passages in our worship. Whatever our preparation for doing this
exercise and whatever questions we may use to break open the passage, we must be conscious of
Christ’s promise: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them’.
12 The prayer that concludes the Lectio Divina is ICEL’s 1998 opening prayer from the Proper of
the Sunday. These prayers draw upon the concrete and vivid images of Scripture and conclude
with a clearly focused petition inspired by the reading.
7Year of Mark 3 rd January 2021
review 13
We have gathered to worship in joy and hope for the future. Epiphany
coincides with our enjoyment of outdoor holidays. The Summer sun wraps all
living things in its warmth and light. Spring growth has peaked without the
dryness of late summer. GOD’s power for life-giving crowns the movements in the
biosphere, for a full human flowering of life, as the benevolent sun recreates us.
But even in this season of light and burgeoning of life there lies the shadow of
threat. Human excess has reduced the Ozone Layer and ultra-violet rays can be
deadly. The death-dealing ways of human disrespect can taint with death the
benevolence of the temperate sun, our source of energy and life.
The liturgy in the WORD and Eucharistic Prayer evoke a different perception of
knowledge and power. Like the visiting seekers of the Messiah in the gospel, we
stand on the threshold of the dramatic, transformational reigning of G OD.
The subversiveness and ambiguity of the moment is dramatised in the account of
Herod and the visitors from the East. We thank, "GOD of all the nations" that the
long-ago star led foreigners to seek the Messiah. We thank the Spirit of G OD that
today reveals the mystery of the Christ in the Sacrament. We are thankful that on
the final days a brilliant light will draw all the peoples to, "the city of the living
GOD." Being religious people we need help, to move beyond the narrow faith that
wants to reduce Jesus to our experience, our church, our culture, or to our
tradition – and fails to see Jesus anywhere else. These various revelatory images
or epiphanies help us to see in a multiplicity of signs the many ways in which
knowledge, power, truth, and beauty are revealed in sources outside our usual
experience. Arrogance makes us pretend that we know and worship what we do
not understand. We need pointing beyond our difficulties and dangers of our
journey, to the wider horizon of G OD's love and the wider purpose to which G OD
calls us.
------oooOooo-------
13 Review: at the end of each reflection the review examines one of the themes of the readings,
usually drawn from the gospel and provides an opportunity to check our own performance in the
light of the WORD and Eucharist that we have previously heard and experienced.
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